Isaiah 18:1

Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia: that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto... all ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. (Isaiah 18:1-3)

When trouble comes like a flood, where will you turn — to the alliances of this world, or to the God who alone defends His people?

One of the Most Difficult Chapters in Scripture

If you look at the commentators on Isaiah 18, you'll find this is considered one of the most difficult passages in the book — and since Isaiah is one of the more difficult books of the Bible, this may be one of the most difficult chapters in all of Scripture. Yet it is only seven verses long.

Adam Clarke, the great commentator, said this is one of the most obscure prophecies in the whole book of Isaiah. The subject, the design, the people addressed, the history, the person who sends the messengers, and the nation to whom they are sent are all obscure and doubtful. You read that and wonder, "What in the world does it mean?" There is much difference of opinion, but as I have studied and meditated on it many times, I think the leading view flows right out of chapter 17 — the last three verses, which dealt with judgment upon the Assyrians.

Woe to the multitude of many people, which make a noise like the noise of the seas; and to the rushing of nations, that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters!... God shall rebuke them, and they shall flee far off... This is the portion of them that spoil us, and the lot of them that rob us. (Isaiah 17:12-14)

Assyria, the Rod in God's Hand

We've been studying how God is judging His own people — the northern ten tribes and even Judah and Jerusalem in the south. The tool God chose to bring this judgment was the nation of Assyria. We saw this clearly back in chapter 7, and even more clearly in chapter 10, where God specifically said Assyria was the rod in His hand to execute judgment upon His own people.

God's people had turned their backs on the Lord and turned to false gods and idols, so God disciplined them. Wave after wave of judgment came, with God saying, "My hand is outstretched still." The great wave came by the Assyrians over many decades, ending in the annihilation of the northern ten tribes and the near-complete destruction of Judah and Benjamin at the hands of Sennacherib. We'll see this plainly in chapters 36 and 37, the historical interlude that shows us what happened during the reign of King Hezekiah.

In chapter 17, the Assyrian advance is described like the rushing of many waters — vast armies coming with great noise. Have you ever stood near a great waterfall, like Niagara or Yosemite? I remember during the El Niño years standing a hundred feet from Lake Hodges' overflowing spillway, listening to the roaring waters. That is the sound Isaiah saw coming in the Assyrian army, and in the face of it, all the nations were quaking with fear.

Who Were the Ethiopians?

One of those fearful nations, as we come to chapter 18, is Cush, or Ethiopia. The Ethiopia of Isaiah's day is not the country we think of today. It was a region and an empire — probably the second largest empire of the day, after Assyria. It encompassed modern Ethiopia, the southern reaches of Egypt, all of what we call Sudan, and reached even into modern-day Yemen.

The picture here is that the Ethiopians, allied with Egypt, are coming up to Judah seeking an alliance to protect one another as the Assyrian wave bears down from the northeast. Recognizing they could be in trouble if Assyria came all the way into Africa, they come to Judah and say, "Will you stand with us? Will you unite with us against the Assyrian army?"

When God says "woe to the land shadowing with wings," He's describing that northeast corner of Africa, where even today you'll hear the sounds of winged insects around the Nile. We need to recognize that the Hebrew word for "woe" here is oy — you might think oy vey. It can mean woe in the sense of coming destruction, but it is also used in Isaiah 55:1 as "ho," a call to attention. Unlike the burdens pronounced against the nations in chapters 13-17, this word is different. God is not speaking against the Ethiopians here so much as speaking to them: "Listen up."

Go Home — I Don't Want an Unholy Alliance

The message to these messengers is essentially: stop, return home, go back. We don't need your help; we're not looking for your help. Ethiopia sought to establish a league with Judah, but God says, "No, I don't want My people to make an unholy alliance with you." Remember, back in chapter 7 God told King Ahaz, "I will protect the land." God would defend His people miraculously, as we'll see in chapter 37, and God does not share His glory with anyone.

It is so tempting, when faced with the enemy, to make alliances with the things of this world. When trials come, we look for our own escape — even though God tells us through Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 that He will provide a way of escape, and we are to look for His way, not manufacture our own. How many of you can agree that we are tempted to turn to other resources, other wells?

The Ethiopians were "a people terrible from their beginning" — tall, dark-skinned, feared by many. If you were facing destruction by Assyria, you might want an ally like that. But God says no. It echoes Psalm 20:7: "Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God." God did not want His people relying on any army of man.

Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither seek the LORD! (Isaiah 31:1)

Even the Enemy Says, "Don't Trust in Egypt"

The amazing thing is that when we get to chapter 36, the commander of the Assyrian army — the enemy of Jerusalem — tells the people the very same thing.

Lo, thou trustest in the staff of this broken reed, on Egypt; whereon if a man lean, it will go into his hand, and pierce it: so is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all that trust in him. (Isaiah 36:6)

He continues in verse 9, mocking them for putting their trust in Egypt for chariots and horsemen. Even the enemy of God's people tells them that leaning on the armies of man will fail. We should take careful note: if we call Him our God, then we must trust Him as God.

This is the recurring temptation in Judah's history. Back in chapter 7, King Ahaz foolishly trusted Assyria for help against the northern tribes and the Syrians (two different nations — Syria and Assyria). God told Ahaz, "If you trust Me, I will protect and establish you." But Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglath-Pileser, took money from the temple and his own treasury, and paid off Assyria to help him. That unholy alliance turned around to bite him — the very Assyrians he hired would later come to destroy Judah. By then it would be Hezekiah, not Ahaz, on the throne, and Hezekiah would be tempted to trust in Egypt and Ethiopia, and God would say, "Woe to you if you go down to Egypt for help."

Where Do We Turn Today?

May we recognize this in our own day. When an unexpected bill arrives, when something breaks on the car that we weren't ready for, how tempted are we to turn to the MasterCard when the Master God says, "Turn to Me." When medical difficulties come, prayer is often our last resort instead of our first. I am certain God has given us understanding in medicine and amazing advancements, and those gifts come from His hand. But there are many times God desires to show Himself mighty and powerful, and we deny Him the opportunity by turning first to other things.

The gods of the Old Testament were silver and gold that people bowed down to. Today they might be silver and gold — or platinum cards. Some trust in their 401(k), some in their job, some in their house. Fill in the blank. We must be those who put our confidence in God.

God Himself Will Lift the Banner

All ye inhabitants of the world, and dwellers on the earth, see ye, when he lifteth up an ensign on the mountains; and when he bloweth a trumpet, hear ye. (Isaiah 18:3)

God Himself will lift the banner and sound the trumpet for battle. There is no need for Judah to ally with Ethiopia, because God says, "I am going to defend My people against the Assyrians." He calls all the inhabitants of the world to take notice of what He is going to do — and what a great sign of His strength it will be.

Judah was nothing. When we get to chapters 36 and 37, the Assyrian army nearly plows over Judah — I believe forty-seven of their walled cities were destroyed when Sennacherib invaded. There was no possible way Judah could stand against Assyria. Yet when the Assyrian king surrounded Jerusalem, in one night the angel of the Lord killed 185,000 of the Assyrian army. Judah before Assyria had no hope — but Assyria before the power of God had no hope whatsoever. God desires to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him.

God Turns Up the Heat

For so the LORD said unto me, I will take my rest, and I will consider in my dwelling place like a clear heat upon herbs, and like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest. (Isaiah 18:4)

God will watch quietly. Like the heat that slowly increases in midsummer — you never hear the sun, it just grows hotter and hotter — God says, "I'm going to turn up the heat on the Assyrians quietly. They won't hear it coming." Back in 17:12 the Assyrian army roared like rushing waters, causing everyone to fear; now God says He will burn before the harvest.

He shall both cut off the sprigs with pruning hooks, and take away and cut down the branches. They shall be left together unto the fowls of the mountains, and to the beasts of the earth. (Isaiah 18:5-6)

Before they are even ripe, God will destroy them — fulfilled literally in one night in chapter 37 — in such a way that it becomes a great feast for the birds of the air. We see similar language about the apocalyptic judgment of the earth: "For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together" (Matthew 24:28; cf. Luke 17:37), and most vividly in Revelation 19, where an angel calls the birds to "the supper of the great God" to eat the flesh of kings and captains and mighty men.

In that time shall the present be brought unto the LORD of hosts of a people scattered and peeled... to the place of the name of the LORD of hosts, the mount Zion. (Isaiah 18:7)

When God brings this judgment on Assyria, the Ethiopians — once fearful and sending ambassadors — will rejoice. They will be so grateful to the God of their salvation that they bring a gift, an offering, to the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem.

The Burden of Egypt and the Indicators of Judgment

The burden of Egypt. Behold, the LORD rideth upon a swift cloud, and shall come into Egypt: and the idols of Egypt shall be moved at his presence, and the heart of Egypt shall melt in the midst of it. (Isaiah 19:1)

Now we come to the burden upon Egypt, and this chapter is very important because it shows us what we might call the indicators of God's judgment. How can we tell when a nation is actually being judged by the Lord? Watch the burden upon Egypt unfold.

First, this is a minor fulfillment of the day of the Lord — a moment when God reaches into humanity for judgment. The great and terrible day of the Lord has not yet come, but this term, used some twenty-seven times in Scripture, is always associated with judgment, darkness, dimness, shame, and destruction.

Indicator One: The Idols Are Shaken

The first indicator is that the things the people trust in are moved, and their hearts melt. There's a great picture of this in 1 Samuel 4. Israel went out against the Philistines and got spanked the first day. That night their leaders asked, "What went wrong?" Someone said, "We forgot God," so they sent for the ark of the covenant to bring it into the camp. When it arrived, they shouted so loud the ground shook, and the Philistines said, "The gods of Israel have come among them." Notice — they said gods, plural, an indication that Israel had not been worshiping the one true God rightly. When things got hard, they tossed aside Asherah, Baal, and Molech and said, "Now we need to get God."

But when you use God as a good-luck charm, He doesn't show up. The next day the Philistines spanked Israel again and captured the ark, taking it to Ashdod and setting it beside their god Dagon, the half-man, half-fish. The next morning the priests found Dagon fallen on his face, so they propped him up — and if you have to prop your god up, you've got the wrong god. The morning after, only his stump remained; his head and his hands were cut off. When God's presence moves in, the gods of this world tremble and fall.

Now fast-forward 2,800 years. In 2006, writers in The Economist, Forbes, and Newsweek were projecting the Dow would reach 50,000, and people were buying homes expecting them to be worth a million dollars in five years. Then on October 1, 2008 — interestingly, the Feast of Trumpets — everything fell apart and the Dow dropped 777 points. God sounded the trumpet, and I believe in some way began to move for judgment against our own nation. And think back to September 11, 2001. The world trusted in Wall Street, and in a matter of hours the World Trade Center came down. America had become the greatest military power ever, and a plane was flown into the Pentagon, the center of our military might. The idols of America were shaken, and the heart melted into despair.

Indicators Two and Three: Civil Unrest and Spiritual Failure

And I will set the Egyptians against the Egyptians: and they shall fight every one against his brother, and every one against his neighbour; city against city, and kingdom against kingdom. (Isaiah 19:2)

The second indicator is civil unrest — the loss of civility as Egyptian fights Egyptian, neighbor against neighbor, city against city.

And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof... and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards. (Isaiah 19:3)

The third indicator is spiritual failure. The people won't know where to turn for wisdom, so they will seek idols, charmers, the occult, horoscopes, palm readers. About eight months ago I saw an interview with a Los Angeles palm reader who said fortune-telling has skyrocketed in this economic downturn. She charges $200 an hour, and she said people who once asked about their love life are now coming in asking, "Am I going to be okay?"

Indicators Four, Five, and Six: Tyranny, Drought, and Famine

And the Egyptians will I give over into the hand of a cruel lord; and a fierce king shall rule over them. (Isaiah 19:4)

The next indicator is tyranny. The people can find no one to counsel them, so they turn to whoever will stand in that place — and when people are desperate for leadership, they often turn to despots.

And the waters shall fail from the sea, and the river shall be wasted and dried up. (Isaiah 19:5)

Then comes drought — rivers and brooks dry up. And then famine and industrial collapse, for Egypt was sustained by the Nile.

The paper reeds by the brooks... shall wither, be driven away, and be no more. The fishers also shall mourn... Moreover they that work in fine flax, and they that weave networks, shall be confounded. (Isaiah 19:7-9)

Egypt was known for its fine linen and for inventing papyrus — paper. As the reeds wither, their industry fails. The indicators stack up: idols shaken, civil unrest, tyranny, drought, famine, and economic and industrial collapse. All of these signal that God is removing His hand of protection and blessing, so that the enemy can come in like a flood.

God Removes His Hand — The Picture of Job

We need to take careful note: when those planes flew into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, it was not God directing those things. But God had removed His hand of protection, so the enemy was able to come in like a flood.

There's a great proof of this in Job. Satan said Job only served God because of his hedge of blessing and protection. God removed His hand, and the enemy came in and took everything Job owned, killed his servants, and killed his children — but God still protected Job's life and health. Job did not curse God. So Satan came again, and when God removed the protection over Job's health, illness covered him with boils. The only thing God did not take was Job's wife — and she was telling him to curse God and die. Job despaired even of the day of his birth, yet he would not curse God. God had removed His hand of protection, and the enemy came in.

Indicator Seven: The Loss of Wise Counsel

Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish... The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof. (Isaiah 19:11-14)

As God moves for judgment, the next indicator is the loss of wise counsel. Look at our political system — it doesn't matter whether you favor Democrats or Republicans, there is a major loss of wise counsel. No one knows how to fix the problems, and those who have answers are afraid to stand up for fear of what the people might think. So the leaders become fools, deceived and seduced.

Neither shall there be any work for Egypt, which the head or tail, branch or rush, may do. (Isaiah 19:15)

There is no work for Egypt — unemployment on the rise as an indicator of God's judgment. We tend to think of judgment as fire falling from heaven on Sodom, not economic collapse, tyranny, drought, famine, or unemployment. You might object that unemployment is an indicator of judgment — but it is an indicator of the removal of God's blessing, just as God promised His people in Deuteronomy 28 about the blessings and curses of the law.

In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the LORD of hosts. (Isaiah 19:16)

The next indicator is the loss of courage and strength. Even the land of Judah, never in history a terror to mighty Egypt, becomes a terror to them. God says even those weaker than you will become your fear.

The Purpose of Punishment Is Purification

Verses 18 and 19 are a stark, 180-degree turn.

In that day shall five cities in the land of Egypt speak the language of Canaan, and swear to the LORD of hosts... In that day shall there be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt. (Isaiah 19:18-19)

The nation is judged and punished, and the result is an altar to the Lord in the midst of Egypt. What is this? God's punishment is for the purpose of purification.

And it shall be for a sign and for a witness unto the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt: for they shall cry unto the LORD because of the oppressors, and he shall send them a saviour... And the LORD shall smite Egypt: he shall smite and heal it. (Isaiah 19:20-22)

Even if they are Gentiles, even if they are not of Judah, God desires to hear His people cry out to Him, and He will always answer. The purpose of punishment is purification — He smites and He heals.

In that day shall there be a highway out of Egypt to Assyria... and Israel shall be the third with Egypt and with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: Whom the LORD of hosts shall bless, saying, Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel mine inheritance. (Isaiah 19:23-25)

What an amazing transformation. God judges Israel with Assyria, judges Egypt with Assyria, then judges Assyria — and out of Egypt, Assyria, and Israel comes a people calling on the Lord. God has a remnant. Back in chapter 7 we met Isaiah's son Shear-jashub, whose name means "a remnant shall return." Whom the Lord loves, He chastens and disciplines.

Isaiah Walks Naked as a Sign

In the year that Tartan came unto Ashdod, (when Sargon the king of Assyria sent him,) and fought against Ashdod, and took it... the LORD spake by Isaiah... Go and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put off thy shoe from thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot. (Isaiah 20:1-2)

We can date this at 711 B.C. Sargon was king of Assyria, just before Sennacherib who would later besiege Jerusalem. Sargon sent his general Tartan against Ashdod, a key Philistine city, and took it. And God gave Isaiah one of the strangest words ever: "Strip down and walk naked and barefoot for three years." I imagine Isaiah wondered whether that was really the Lord — but God said this is what I want you to do.

Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot three years for a sign and wonder upon Egypt and upon Ethiopia; So shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptians prisoners, and the Ethiopians captives, young and old, naked and barefoot, even with their buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt. (Isaiah 20:3-4)

Egypt and Ethiopia were allied, and back in chapter 18 they came up seeking Judah's help. God said not to trust them because they would be destroyed. Now He tells Isaiah: just as you walk naked, the Assyrians will strip Egypt and Ethiopia and lead them captive, young and old, to their shame.

Ashamed of the Things They Trusted In

And they shall be afraid and ashamed of Ethiopia their expectation, and of Egypt their glory. (Isaiah 20:5)

When this happens, the people of Judah will be ashamed and afraid, because they were tempted to trust in Egypt and Ethiopia — and now those nations are themselves being led away captive. Imagine putting all your hope in the great army of the United States, and then watching that entire army consumed and carried off as prisoners of war. What would you do?

Behold, such is our expectation, whither we flee for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria: and how shall we escape? (Isaiah 20:6)

Everyone will ask, "What are we going to do? If Egypt and Ethiopia, the second great power of the time, can be taken, how can we stand?" But this was God's way of preparing His people to see His glory — removing their hope and expectation from the things of this world.

God has an awesome way of shaking the things we trust in so we can see where our hope really is. Even today, as disciples of Christ, we are shaken to reveal where our confidence lies. If your hope is not in the Lord — if it's in your savings account, I guarantee God will take it away; if it was in your 401(k), He may already have taken it away. One by one, God will strategically remove those things until all you have is Himself, whether individually or, as here, nationally.

God Is Our Refuge and Strength

It is said of the rabbis of old that during this time, when God was preparing His people for the protection He would bring in chapter 37, Israel sang the psalm we know as Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea... There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God... The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. (Psalm 46)

This last week a great 8.8 earthquake struck Chile. National Geographic reported the earth was tilted three inches on its axis and the day shortened by 1.26 nanoseconds. I don't know how they determine those things, but it's amazing. "Though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." Mountains in Scripture often refer to kingdoms — though the kingdoms are shaken and cast down. "Though the waters thereof roar" — remember the Assyrian advance roared like many waters in chapter 17.

We remember that God is enthroned in heaven. When He breaks the bow, cuts the spear, and burns the chariot with fire, we realize He alone is the One we can trust. "Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth." May the Lord of hosts be our refuge. Things may get pretty bad here on earth, and I guarantee they will get much worse before the King of Kings comes — but He is our hope and our trust.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You for Your word; Your word is truth. As we see Your word fulfilled in our midst — as we consider the indicators of judgment upon the Egyptians, Lord: a move that You made, and the idols of Egypt were moved, the heart of the people melted, civil unrest and tyranny, drought and famine, industrial and economic collapse, the removal of wise counsel, foolishness, the loss of courage and strength — all these are indicators that You have removed Your hand of blessing and protection from a nation, and the enemy is able to move in like a flood.

When we consider this, we recognize that our own nation is in that very place. May we, Your people, declare with a loud, clear voice that You are our refuge and our strength — not the stock market, not the army, not the Marine Corps, not the presidency, not any other thing. You are our refuge and our strength. Give us boldness to declare this to everyone we meet, for we are quickly approaching Isaiah 24, the judgment declared upon the whole earth. Lord, give us boldness to speak. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.